Bad quality on DNG vs Jpeg photos

[xabba]

Hi all
I recently became an Mavic Pro owner. When taking raw format photos i found them to be of poor quality (very unsharp and blurry).
I googled for hints how to enhance the picture quality but no noticeable difference.
Then i choosed the Mavic to save photo in both jpeg and dng format and i notice that the .dng file is unsharp but same picture in jpeg format is good..

Does anyone understand what goes wrong, is this due to some issue with .900 software that i applied or related to something else?
Unfortunately i cannot revert to .700 version since its no longer available with dji assistance software.
I attached a file that shows same zoom level in the dng file and jpeg.
The .dng file is to the left.

Thanks

 

[Kilrah]

What processing software are you using to process the DNG?
If you just open it with a standard viewer all you'll see is a low-resolution preview that will be much smaller than the JPEG.

RAW is not usable without treatment.
The Basics of RAW files {and what to do with the darn things}

 

[xabba]

aah could that be the reason?
In windows i open it with the standard picture preview tool. In mac i tried to open it with the lightroom but i dont notice any higher quality differences...

Update: just downloaded a photo processing app and now it looks much better. Thanks Kilrah for the hint!

 

[gnirtS]

A DNG is a raw photo. That means its data straight from the sensor. No sharpening, no noise reduction, no contrast or saturation changes, nothing.

A raw photo will ALWAYS need editing and always appear unsharp and unsaturated until then. Thats the whole point of them.

 

[rocdok]

Hi all
I recently became an Mavic Pro owner. When taking raw format photos i found them to be of poor quality (very unsharp and blurry).
I googled for hints how to enhance the picture quality but no noticeable difference.
Then i choosed the Mavic to save photo in both jpeg and dng format and i notice that the .dng file is unsharp but same picture in jpeg format is good..

Does anyone understand what goes wrong, is this due to some issue with .900 software that i applied or related to something else?
Unfortunately i cannot revert to .700 version since its no longer available with dji assistance software.
I attached a file that shows same zoom level in the dng file and jpeg.
The .dng file is to the left.

Thanks

HI, i've been flying maybe 6 months. I had some experience 25 yrs ago with using nikon raw photos, photoshop etc. and back then raw was great for me. The dng's coming from my mavic for me are oversaturated over contrasted and seems unfixable in lightroom. i gave up on them, but now having flown a lot, I am back to tryin to figure it out because i do a lot of Pans and blow em up and actually print em and make my own frames etc. I want the best outcome i can get obviously. Despite what's on the net, my custom settings that has made my jpegs look good is -1, +1 and +1. I flew yesterday and set it to -1, -1 and 0 and the DNG's improved (now jpegs washed out) but still not useable. The other thing is, is that i've been flying with filters which **may** be a mistake for stills, but i recall the dng's looking like **** before I even got the filters. Anyway, I don't yet have an answer but was glad to find your post cause I didn't notice anyone else talking about it - This is my second mavic ( first dropped into lake) and both had the identical looking lousy dng's so I don't think it's a 'bad' mavic.....
I would be pleased if someone could straighten me out....even if it's all my fault..(+:

 

[gnirtS]

Sharpness, saturation and contrast settings shouldn't affect the DNG at all (they dont for me and i tested it a lot). Are you sure the software isn't using the embedded JPG preview in the raw file as opposed to the actual raw file for editing? Make sure lightroom isn't applying a develop preset or style on import.
One bug that was present certainly up to .800 (the last time i checked it) and might be now is having d-log selected massively changed the DNG file when in theory it shouldn't have any effect at all. This was solved by using cinelink or in fact any other profile where behaviour was as it should be.

You definitely dont want filters for stills. At best they'll do nothing. At worst they'll cause lens flare, loss of contrast, blurring or increased noise.

 

[rocdok]

Sharpness, saturation and contrast settings shouldn't affect the DNG at all (they dont for me and i tested it a lot). Are you sure the software isn't using the embedded JPG preview in the raw file as opposed to the actual raw file for editing? Make sure lightroom isn't applying a develop preset or style on import.
One bug that was present certainly up to .800 (the last time i checked it) and might be now is having d-log selected massively changed the DNG file when in theory it shouldn't have any effect at all. This was solved by using cinelink or in fact any other profile where behaviour was as it should be.

You definitely dont want filters for stills. At best they'll do nothing. At worst they'll cause lens flare, loss of contrast, blurring or increased noise.

Thanks! Definetly using dng. When i open the micro sd on mac, jpeg and dng are clearly separated. i just took about 60 pics using every position of sharp, contrast and sat with No filter from -2 up to +2. Dng looked way better right away with no filter, And I think u r right- the dng didnt change much. I imported a -1, -1, -1 dng to lightroom and am now satisfied that it will be better. thx again.

 

[Ian Calhaem]

I suggest that users should examine the EXIF data embedded in both the jpg and DNG files. IT IS WRONG!
This is the reason that when a dng file is opened in Windows Explorer it looks so bad. The resolution is incorrect and Windows is doing its best to read bad data. If the file is opened in Photoshop or lightroom then the full Exif data is read and the proper image is displayed. This one caught me for a long time. Hopefully DJI will fix this quickly. (I have commented elsewhere, but they must also allow the new crystalsky monitors to display a dng file)
You will also find that the altitude data written into the JPG and DNG files is wrong. This time it is the DNG which is correct.

 

[Sparky1]

aah could that be the reason?
In windows i open it with the standard picture preview tool. In mac i tried to open it with the lightroom but i dont notice any higher quality differences...

Update: just downloaded a photo processing app and now it looks much better. Thanks Kilrah for the hint!

What photo editing app did you use?

 

[Hitec_NL]

I shot some RAW pictures for the first time yesterday, and they actually look a lot better than the standard JPEG's! Shot them on Landscape mode, don't remember what those settings exactly are.
Might need to tinker around with the JPEG settings, but they are way oversaturated and contrast is really high.
The RAW pictures have much more detail and look more as if seen by the human eye. They still need some processing as the corners tend to darken a little, but overall I am very satisfied with the quaility.

I use Faststone Image Viewer, which is able to show a RAW image in full detail. It's a great viewing tool and it's free .

 

[gnirtS]

You will also find that the altitude data written into the JPG and DNG files is wrong. This time it is the DNG which is correct.

From what i can tell they switched to using GPS altitude a while ago for that data in the exif. GPS altitude can easily be out by 20-30m hence some big differences real world to what the photos say.

 

[rocdok]

I find vignetting to be a feature of the dng’s not present on jpeg’s

 

[Cslucas34]

I transfer my photos to my iPad Pro and use affinity for post processing. Wonderful app that works very well especially if you have the Apple Pencil to use as well.

 

[gnirtS]

I find vignetting to be a feature of the dng’s not present on jpeg’s

That likely because vignetting is a feature of the camera/lens. In doing all the editing and creating a jpg it applies a lens profile correction to brighten the corners and remove it.